As the demand for fresh water increases and the supplies of fresh water decrease, water conservation is becoming critically important in the United States, China and elsewhere in the world. Water shortages are more common, particularly in the Southwestern United States, due to a combination of rising temperatures, population growths, water waste and droughts, as well as a very large increase in water demand from commercial industries.
Personal showers are a major user of fresh water. An average shower lasts twelve minutes and uses 2.5 gallons of fresh water per minute. When that amount of water is multiplied by the number of people and the average number of showers per person per day, it is readily apparent that a tremendous quantity of fresh water is used every day for showering. Additionally, considerable energy is used in the pumping, heating and treatment of water in treatment facilities. Shortening the time spent showering dramatically reduces this energy. Thus, there is a continuing need to decrease the amount of shower water used, not only in personal households, but also in hotels, military bases, college campuses, apartment buildings, passenger ships and the like.